Exercise heavenly wisdomI’ve been thinking about wisdom a lot lately. Perhaps that’s because I’ve been praying for God to give me wisdom in how to love my family well and lead those I work with. It would be great if God would just make me as wise as Solomon in the Old Testament, but I’m still waiting on that. I recently read in the New Testament letter James (3:13-18) that there are two kinds of wisdom: earthly and heavenly. This struck me as odd. I always thought th...

Church Briefs (Sept. 26, 2014)St. John Catholic Harvest Fest Bazaar St. John Catholic Church will host its annual Harvest Fest Bazaar and dinner from noon to 8 p.m. Saturday. The event begins at noon with lunch featuring tamales, papusas, hot dogs and other fair foods along with games, a dunking booth, live entertainment, a silent auction and a $5,000 giveaway. A barbecue pork or chicken dinner will be held from 4:30-7 p.m. and will include slaw, beans, drinks and dessert....

Let God minister to youI want to read from John 13:8, “Peter saith unto him, ‘Thou shalt never wash my feet.’ Jesus answered him, ‘If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.’” Peter’s refusal to let Jesus wash his feet came from a knowledge that he was totally unworthy to have the sinless Son of God serve him as a common servant would. Peter was correct in his assessment of his relative worth, but what he missed was that God doesn’t minister to us because of our...

Church Briefs (Sept. 19, 2014)Ola, Plainview UMC news A small group bible meeting will be held at noon today at the Plainview United Methodist Church fellowship hall. Hand bell choir practice will be held at 4 p.m. Saturday. All who want to learn to play are invited to attend and do not have to be a member of the church to participate. Tuesday friends will be held at noon Tuesday with a potluck lunch at Ola United Methodist Church. A potluck and game night will begin at 5 ...

Church group makes blankets for cancer patientsMary Evans, Emma Jernigan and Tiffany Brandon love sharing their talents to help others. Recently, they donated dozens of beautifully crafted fleece tie-blankets to Saint Mary’s Cancer Center to benefit cancer patients undergoing radiation and chemotherapy treatment. Mary, daughter of James and Donna Evans, loves making the fleece blankets. “It makes me feel good to be able to help others,” she said. Emma Jernigan, daughter of Gary and Sue Ann...

Churches, businesses unite at Back to School BashLast week’s lectionary text had one of those familiar passages that many church folk like to refer to, it’s from Matthew 18:20. “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I’m there with them.” On Aug. 3, several area churches came together along with some community partners and downtown merchants to host our second Back to School Bash. This year we once again where able to distribute school supplies donated through Stuff the Bus and area...

Instigating revivalTo instigate means to do something that sets another action in motion. It means to help something get started. Often instigate is used in a negative manner. However, instigate can be used in reference to a good thing. The church in America is in desperate need of spiritual awakening and revival. Be very clear about one thing; spiritual awakening and revival are works of God, not man. Man cannot conjure up revival; no preacher carries revival i...

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Pastor Steve EllisonThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Church Briefs (Sept. 12, 2014)One Night One Cause benefit concert Boys and Girls Christian Home Ministries presents One Night One Cause benefit concert and silent auction on Saturday at the First Baptist Church in Russellville. The silent auction will begin at 5:30 p.m. with the concert set to begin at 6:30. A dessert reception will follow. No tickets are required. The church is located at 200 S. Denver Ave. Majesty III in concert Majesty III will be in concert at the Unit...

Child of the KingWe are all God’s children. That is a complex statement. God is the Creator of all things including all life. Every human being owes his existence to God. So in that sense every human is God’s child. Certainly every human belongs to God. However, there is another side to this coin, a second verse to this song. God has a family. Not every human being has been adopted into God’s family. Not every human being has the privilege of calling God Fathe...

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Pastor Steve EllisonThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Church Briefs (Sept. 5, 2014)Journey of Dardanelle free family picnic The Journey Church of Dardanelle will host a family picnic from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Yell County Courthouse lawn in Dardanelle. Lunch will be served, and inflatables will be available for children along with family photos. Falling Water weekend revival Falling Water church will host a weekend revival Saturday and Sunday. Brother Cody Cytert of Aurora, Mo., will speak at 7 p.m. Saturday, and...

The Red Marble Ministry’s storyThe Red Marble Ministry was brought to attention in the summer of 1999 in an oilfield in New Mexico. A co-worker approached me and placed a red marble in my hand; he said here this represents the blood of Jesus, and God told me a simple message with a small red marble. • Its form is round — representing a never-ending circle with a never-ending love of Jesus. • It is made of glass — very hard, representing what Jesus said of Peter, “upon this ...

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Compiled by Jane MoodyThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Southern Tradition to perform at Caglesville Community ChurchThe southern gospel group Southern Tradition will perform at the Caglesville Community Church as part of the Harvest Celebration on Saturday, Sept. 13. A poor boy supper will be held at 5:30 p.m., and the concert is set to begin at 6:30. The group is known for “true southern gospel, the way it used to be.” The church is located at 13913 State Highway 124 east of Russellville. For more information, call Pastor Bill Moody at (479) 970-5021.

Food on the Mount helps communityFood on the Mount took place Saturday, Aug. 9 at Mount George Church of Christ. The giveaway extravaganza included medical checkups, eye exams, back to school haircuts for kids, free groceries, free school supplies, live music, games, a prayer tent, horse rides and a free lunch. According to a Facebook page post, 334 families were served with 1,633 bags of groceries, 636 bags of school supplies, 87 hearing screenings, 93 eye screenings, 71 med...

“Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God…”In Ephesians 25:32 we are given some situations that have a limiting effect on the power of the Holy Spirit in the Christians life. These sins are named individually as lying, theft, laziness, foul language, bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor and evil speaking. All of these grieve or limit the ability of the Holy Spirit in shaping us into the image of Christ. The task of the Holy Spirit in the life of a Christian is to produce spiritual fruit su...

Church Briefs (Aug. 29, 2014)Satellite courses being offered Victory Missionary Baptist Church of Russellville will offer fall satellite courses from Faith Bible Institute. This is a three-year, fall and spring, Bible course. The courses offered will be a one-hour Old Testament, one-hour New Testament and one-hour theology class. For more information, call the church at (479) 968-7994. Islamic Center open house The Islamic Center of Russellville will host a community open...

Atkins Catholic church celebrates 135 yearsATKINS — One hundred thirty-five years ago, German immigrants gathered in celebration of their newly-formed church — now known as the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church. Located at 118 Ave. Three NE in Atkins, descendants of those founders gathered to celebrate its history in the Catholic church’s 111-year-old building along the railroad tracks. More than 175 people attended the church’s 135-year celebration on Friday, which...

Sometimes it just takes a look aroundMy husband and I own about 15 acres of land between Pottsville and Russellville. We bought it with big dreams as most people do. Over the years since then, life has intervened in our plans, probably because our plans are not God’s plans. We have dreamed about planting a vineyard, or an orchard, or even growing Bermuda grass with an irrigation system. There were plans for a large (believe me, more like huge) workshop, with a cupola on top from ...

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Beth Cook, Chiam B’ DerechThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Church Briefs (Aug. 22, 2014)Old Country Church singing tonight The Old Country Church north of Atkins will host a singing at 7 p.m. today. For more information, call (479) 280-0396. Gospel group 4 Thy Glory to perform Saturday The gospel group 4 Thy Glory will perform at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Booger Hollow Tabernacle. For more information, call (479) 331-2556. House of Praise 35th homecoming anniversary The House of Praise, located at State Highway 7 North and Center Va...

Curious or converted?One day after the writing of this column, I will head to Sturgis, S.D., for a week. I will help to staff an evangelism tent at the motorcycle rally. We will encourage people to consider the most important question ever posed to a human being. Every other issue pales, really fades to total insignificance, in the light of this question. This is a question that cannot be avoided. This question will not be denied; it will be answered. The answer t...

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Pastor Steve EllisonThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley